Amid ongoing political challenges for Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, yet another minister from his camp has landed in controversy. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik is facing allegations from the opposition that he pressured the bike taxi service Rapido to sponsor the Pro Govinda League, an event modelled on Maharashtra’s traditional Dahi Handi.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar launched a sharp attack on Sarnaik through a post on social media platform ‘X’. In a biting comment, Wadettiwar wrote, "With a stunt like this, the Transport Minister has shown the Maharashtra government how to raise funds for its events. First, book a ride using a private app, then catch the poor bike rider for violating the rules, declare the app-based bike taxi as illegal, create a PR campaign to show how alert and smart the Minister is, and finally collect sponsorship from the same company for an event."

Calling it an “image-building exercise,” Wadettiwar further remarked, "In times when the state treasury is empty, this 'Pratap' (feat) by the Minister sets an example for other departments. If things continue like this, every minister may have to pull such stunts to fund their events."

Responding to the criticism, Sarnaik called it “unfortunate” to politicise a cultural event. "Any sport should be treated as just that — a sport. My son Purvesh Sarnaik has been organising the Pro Govinda League for the past three years to promote Maharashtra’s traditional Dahi Handi in a safer, mat-based format. Rapido was one of the 20–25 sponsors of this year’s event that began on May 26. That is a fact, and it cannot be denied," he said.

He also clarified that Rapido’s sponsorship did not prevent him from taking strict action against the company. "After questions were raised in the monsoon session about the legality of Rapido’s bike taxi operations, I ordered immediate action as the responsible minister. FIRs were filed under section B.N.S.S.173 against Rapido's top officials at the Amboli Police Station on July 17 and 18, based on my directives," Sarnaik explained.

Emphasising that this was not limited to penalising drivers, Sarnaik added, "This is probably the first time a transport minister has taken such strict action against a major app-based service provider. This should be appreciated, not criticised."

He concluded with a call to keep politics out of the sport. "The fact that the traditional Dahi Handi sport is now played safely on mats through the Pro Govinda League is something Maharashtra should be proud of," Sarnaik said.